Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing but, just in case I forgot to mention earlier, Asuka Ling is mine, as is Sayla and Precious. And of course the stories aren't real but it's fun to pretend, right? Sorry to all WufeiXSally fans out there, but it's not gonna happen in this story. . .I really don't think it really happened in the show but…hey, that's just my opinion. You can like them if you want, more power to ya! Remember. . .it's fiiicctttiiooonnn. . .not reeeeaaaalll. . .so just reeeaaaaddd iiiittt. . .XD
Chapter 54
"AAIEEYAAHH!" Asuka leapt onto the mobile suit stalking her, quickly climbing up to the head and digging out its circuits from the back of its neck. It staggered blindly about before tripping over a previously defeated suit and joining it on the ground, falling flat on its stomach and trapping the pilot inside. Proudly standing on its back, Asuka held her head high, her Chinese dress flapping in the breeze and revealing her long legs, her daggers shimmering against her thighs.
"There's something sensual about a women in a revealing dress fighting like a wild cat. . ." Chang muttered to himself, watching her skirt rustle in the wind. She stared at the "angel", shouting, "Ecchi, are you done yet?"
"When will you stop calling me that!" Chang yelled back indignantly.
"When you stop staring at my skirt." She grinned sarcastically.
"It's your own fault for wearing a slutty dress in a battle."
"You come down here and say that again, Wufei!" She threatened, violently shaking a dagger at him. He merely laughed and said, "This fight is finished, there're no more to fight." He landed nearby and flapped his wings proudly.
"So where now? I'm still ready to fight!" She said, even though she was getting tired.
"My mission is finished, I have to report back now." He said simply, turning to go. Asuka jumped down, racing over to him as she said, "Report back? You work with someone?"
"A group, and only for the moment until the war is over." Asuka burst out laughing, putting her hands on her hips as she said, "HA, you'll be with them for a while. . ."
"For a day at least. . .until the last mobile suit falls to ruin and all is put to rest." Chang said, a serious look on his face.
"You really think you can end this? Nearly a century of warfare? It's been going on for as long as I can remember. . .my parents died because of it as have many others, you can't stop a war by taking away their toys! Anger and revenge has fueled this war and kept it going. . ."
"This war is like a game of Janga, remove just the right pieces and everything falls, all the pieces end up in the same pile. . .they'll be searching for some sort of safety, revenge would be the last thing on their minds."
"If you do it just right, but what can you do to bring everyone together? It's impossible!"
"I'm merely the soldier. . .someone else has the glue to put everything back together."
"But what about us? Where will we go after the war?"
"I suppose. . .we move on. . ." Chang said, not sounding like he took to his own words.
"Move on? To what! My life revolves around this battle, if it dies, I die!" Asuka shouted.
"Asuka. . .we have no choice. . ."
"You can run away like a whimpering dog but I'm not going to roll over for some pious politician promoting mythical peace!" Chang cocked an eyebrow, walking toward her.
"You can't get enough of it. . ." Chang said, sounding amused.
"Of what?" Asuka looked at him like he was an idiot, crossing her arms impatiently.
"War. . .the adrenaline rush you get when you fight an enemy, the satisfaction of proving your further dominance over weak men. . .you're addicted."
"And you're not? You can't tell me our 'playtime' earlier didn't give you some degree of. . .pleasure. . ." Asuka teased, walking around Chang, running her fingers over his arms briefly as they wandered up and across his shoulders. He tensed and said monotonely, "I don't find getting kneed and cut 'appealing'. . ."
"And that's all you remember? What about when you were. . .pinning me down." She ran her hands down his back and snaked them under his arms and over his chest seductively.
"I felt nothing. . ." He answered coldly. She ran her palms slowly over the silky smooth material of his shirt, feeling his muscles tense up underneath her touch. He growled and said, "Stop that."
"Stop what. . .this?" She sharply dug her nails into his chest and grinned.
"YES!" He grabbed her hands and pulled her away, holding tightly to her as she writhed violently. He looked deep into her eyes and she stopped fighting, staring back blankly. He slowly released her and turned away, saying, "You remind me so much of Meiran. . ." Frowning, she turned him back, slapping him hard.
"Stop comparing me to your dead wife! My name is Asuka, I'm not Meiran! I'm NOT!" Asuka screamed just before looking shocked, turning away quickly. Chang blinked in confusion and said quietly, "Why the sudden offense?"
"Nevermind, I didn't say anything. . ." She muttered harshly, starting to walk away.
"Asuka!" Chang called to her sternly. She stopped in mid step and said, trying to sound tough, "What!"
"Will you come with me. . ."
"Why should I!" She asked snidely, crossing her arms.
"I'm asking you to come, you can go your own way but. . ." He hesitantly stepped up to her, easing his shaky hand toward her but dropping it to his side, looking away.
"What reason do I have to come? The war's ending. . .I'll just disappear into the world and live out the rest of my life. . ."
"Alone?"
"What choice do I have." Her voice was almost lost on the wind. Chang crossed his arms and said, "Well, like you said, there's never complete peace in the world. . ."
"What are you suggesting?"
"For there to be some degree of peace their must be someone to maintain the order, take out any troublemakers before they can do anything. . ."
"And. . .who's going to do that?"
"I would have nothing better to do and. . .I'm only one person, I can't be everywhere. . ."
"And? You're asking me. . .what exactly?" She turned, crossing her arms sarcastically and staring at him with fake expectancy.
She's really enjoying this. . .ugh, I hate asking for help. . .Chang shifted his stance and looked around uneasily, muttering, "I. . .nuhyuhep. . ."
"What was that? Sorry, I couldn't quite hear you. . ." She raised her eyebrows, amused by his fidgeting. He growled and said loudly, "I need help! FINE, I said it!"
"What's this? The great Chang Wufei 'of the Dragon Clan' is asking mefor help? Well, I just might cry. . .look, a tear." She sniffed and wiped at her eye dramatically. With a huff of disgust, he turned and said indignantly, "If you're going to make fun of me for being honest then fine, I don't need you! I can do just fine by myself, goodbye!" He started to walk away but Asuka grabbed his arm, pulling him back and quickly pulling his head down to her, their lips locking in a steamy, passionate kiss. Her fingers ran wildly through his hair and his arms locked around her waist, pulling her closer with every passing second. With a gasp, she broke for his eager lips and stared deeply into his eyes, her mouth gaping as he inched toward her again, feeling her breath on his lips.
"Wufei. ..you're a great kisser. . .for a soldier. Have much. . .practice?" Asuka said airily, her chest heaving with every breath taken in desperately.
"No. . .I've never kissed a woman before you. . ." He answered, a slight moan in his voice, his lips beginning to gently explore her skin. With a gasp, she clenched a lock of his hair in her fist, pressing against him and breathing in his ear.
"What about. . .your precious Meiran?"
"Why do you hate her so much? Did you know her?" Chang slowly bit down on her shoulder, provoking another gasp from her lips.
"Yes!" She cried suddenly, pulling back on his hair.
"AH!" He exclaimed, his head forced back sharply. Asuka pushed her body away from his and turned, her face hidden from view. She slowly hugged her arms as she closed her eyes, letting the wind dry her tears. Completely lost, Chang rubbed his head trying to soothe the pain in his scalp.
"Who is Meiran to you! Rival? Mentor? What? It must be something!" Chang said, frowning angrily.
"She's my sister. . ." Asuka whispered.
"Your. . .sister? But. . ." Chang stared wide-eyed at her back.
"Three years ago, when I was about her age, my father forced me to marry this pompous boy from the Falcon Clan. . .their clan was a rival of ours and he wanted to use me as a peace gift to them. Well, I wouldn't have it, I couldn't waste my life with that fool so. . .I ran away. I was banished for my rash behavior and stripped of the family name forever, forbidden to ever set foot on their land ever again. They forgot me, erased any signs of my being the eldest and pasted the marital duties on to my younger sister. . .Meiran. She was only 12, I couldn't let her suffer in my place with that. . .snob as her husband! So, I did the only thing I could. . .I killed him. Of course, without an heir, the clan diminished into the mountains before my clan was banished to Colony A0206. I was trapped, separated from my family so I could never see them again. It wasn't till last year when I heard of their deaths that I took up arms and began to fight OZ. I hate them so for killing my family, my sister. . .everything I loved! That is why I fight. . .to hold onto my family's honor, even if I have been a dishonorable outcast. . .I must take revenge on my sister's murder, Treize must DIE for what he did!"
"Get in line. . ." Chang said miserably. She turned and stared at him, saying, "You want his blood too?"
"I lost a wife because of him. . .AND he took away my pride by defeating me in battle. . .at my own game of sword fighting no less!"
"How embarrassing for you. . ." Asuka said, not sounding amused. Chang narrowed his eyes for a second, about to explode when he saw the misery on her face as she kept her eyes on him. He frowned sadly and said, "That's why. . .you knew so much about them. . .the Dragon Clan. . .because you used to be one yourself. . .but, I don't understand. . .how could they banish you, just because you refused to marry an idiot?"
"I embarrassed my father. . .made him look like a fool. Meiran always wanted to please father, fighting to become the strongest so she could defend them from harm. . .I still love her, though. At least she had the sense to know her place."
"That's. . .not entirely true. . .she kept trying to boss me around. . ." Chang said, looking down in shame.
"Well, for good reason, I'm sure! You're a disgrace! I mean, fighting a woman, where's your honor, man!" Asuka said, throwing her arms up in disgust. They met gazes for a second, their faces melting into a similar sadness. Chang sighed, stepping closer to Asuka and saying in a gentle voice, "It seems we've both been hurt by the same incident. . ."
"Yeah. . ." Asuka said, hugging her arms again and looking at the ground.
"Asuka. . .will you. . .please join me? You know it's this war that causes tragedies such as our lives to happen. . .don't let them keep killing and bringing about more like us. . .help me stop them."
"Chang. . .I. . .I'll do what I can." Asuka said, looking up with tears in her eyes. Chang swallowed a lump forming in his throat and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She didn't move at first, frozen by her tears as she whispered, "It's what Meiran would have wanted. . ."
"It's. . .what she would have done. . ." Chang whispered back, bowing his head to rest on hers as a single tear slowly rolled down his cheek.
"Everybody, get down!" Sayla yelled out as she led civilians to safety and away from the fight carrying on just feet away. A mobile suit sped over their heads as they fell to their hands and knees, gasping and screaming in shock as the machine crashed into the building they were running for.
"Sorry! Go that way!" Quatre yelled to them, fending off another mobile suit coming for him. As he took it down, the remainder suits suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.
"What's going on?" Sayla whispered as she stared over his shoulder at the frozen attackers. In unison, they started their booster rockets and flew away from the town, disappearing over the sand dunes. Quatre returned to Sayla's side, a little confused by their sudden departure. She ran to him and said, "Quatre, what happened?"
"I don't know, something weird is going on. I think it's time to regroup, come on." Quatre said, grabbing Sayla's hand. She barely had time to wave to the crowd before she was ripped across the world to the Sanc Kingdom, blinking in shock. Looking around, she saw a group of people having a conversation, which quickly came to a stop as they appeared.
"Quatre, you're alright!" Relena exclaimed first, running up to him to give him a hug. Sayla stepped aside and humbly bowed her head, glancing at the others who looked her over in curiosity.
"Quatre. . ." Trowa stepped forward, Precious sitting on his hip snoozing on his shoulder.
"Trowa! Who's the cute little girl?" Quatre asked sweetly, walking over to have a better look.
"Her name's Precious, she doesn't speak English, though, so I'm warning you now. . .I don't even know what she says. . ." Trowa said. Hearing her name, Precious woke and sleepily looked around saying, "Daddy?" Trowa heard Duo snicker and he glanced over his shoulder at him. Sighing, he rolled his eyes as he said, "But Duo understands. . .he seems to be the only one that understands German. Go figure. . ."
"German, huh? She looks more Irish than German with the red hair. . .aren't most Germans blonde?" Quatre asked, petting her hair and making silly noises. Precious squealed happily and grabbed Quatre's nose, pulling back and cradling her hand away from view.
"She's got your nose. . ." Trowa said with a smile.
"Not really, Colonel Une is German and she's a brunette. Blonde is a more Swedish and Scandinavian trait. . ." Rachel said knowingly.
"And her name's Precious?" Quatre chuckled, tickling her to get his nose back, causing quite an uproar to ensue.
"Yeah. . .well, that's not her real name but she can't remember anything. . ." Trowa answered over the 3 year old's giggles.
"She's so adorable!" Quatre laughed. He gasped and said suddenly, "Oh, I'm so rude! Everyone, this is Sayla. . ." He quickly ran over to the quiet Indian and took her arm in his, leading her over to the group.
"And we weren't invited to the wedding?" Heero said sarcastically, noticing her obviously ceremonial gown. Quatre began to sweat as he said, "What! No, we're not married!"
"This was all my sisters' doing, not my idea." Sayla added.
"Exactly! Besides, I barely know her." Quatre laughed nervously.
"We just met earlier today!"
"I saved her life."
"He saved my life!" They both laughed and everyone cocked their eyebrows, glancing at each other in amusement.
"O. . .kay then. . .well, did you remember to finish your mission before you. . .saved her life?" Duo asked, not buying the whole act.
"Not exactly. . .that's why I came back here." Quatre said, becoming serious.
"What happened?" Heero asked.
"Well, I was about to finish off the last of them when they all stopped and ran away. I didn't think I was that intimidating. . ." Quatre said, scratching his head.
"It's not you. . .don't worry. . .I don't think you could intimidate the Pope. . ." Duo mumbled.
"What?"
"It was most likely Une's doing. She's a little. . .how do you say. . ." Rachel said.
"Angry?" Milliardo said.
"psychotic?" Duo suggested.
"That too. . .Treize's dead." Rachel finished.
"What! When? How?" Quatre exclaimed.
"Earlier today. . .with a kiss. . ." Rachel said shyly.
"Of death, no doubt. . ." Sayla said, looking surprised.
"Hey Duo, looks like she's becoming more and more like you everyday! Shinigami and his girlfriend, Shiniai!" Heero joked. Duo gave him a look and turned back to Quatre, saying, "A mass of Mobile suits seem to be gathering in outer space as we speak, no doubt where your friends went to."
"They're gonna attack the Colonies? No, my family's up there!" Quatre exclaimed, looking worried.
"We all have friends and family up there, mostly. . .we were going to come for you anyway to regroup and go after them. . ." Noin said. Just then, a burst of light flashed in the room and Chang appeared with Asuka by his side.
"What is this, everyone comes back with a new friend?" Duo exclaimed.
"Wufei. . .must have been some battle. . .you look a little disheveled. . ." Heero said, staring at Chang's messy hair. Quickly smoothing it down with a few furious swipes, Chang said indignantly, "Shutup, Yuy. . ."
"My name is Asuka Ling, I have come to join your battle and fight by your side to stop this war." Asuka stepped forward proudly to introduce herself.
"That's great, we could always use more allies!" Relena said cheerfully.
"Do you have any previous battling experiences or skills?" Noin asked.
"She took down 6 Taurus suits with nothing but a pair of daggers and a missile launcher." Chang said, rather impressed by her himself.
"Well. . .I only used the launcher once. . ." Asuka said, trying to sound a little humble. Milliardo blinked and said, "I wonder how. . ." Asuka looked like she would have gone into detail but Heero cut her off, saying, "Can we fill Chang in on the happenings as of late before Une blows the Colonies to kingdom come?"
"Happenings? What did I miss?" Chang asked, looking confused.
"Short version: Treize is dead, Une's ticked, she's going to take it out on the Colonies thus. . .we must be going."
"Treize is dead! WHAT!" Asuka yelled, looking furious and shocked at the same time.
"Who killed him!" Chang asked in a demanding tone.
"Does it matter? Une is gonna serve up the Colony with a side of toast if we keep arguing like this! And I don't like toast!" Duo interrupted the screamfest impatiently.
"We'll talk about this later, right now we have some people to save and a war to end, let's go!" Milliardo said in a commanding voice.
"If we form a circle and link hands, it won't take all our energy to get there, so we'll have plenty to expend on OZ." Rachel suggested. They all agreed, joining together in a circle and combining their powers to teleport everyone to the Colonies.
